Feviona was first through the door, followed quickly by Jorvan. Mikranasta held back, allowing Nin-Akna and the human watchmen to go next. While Zandrue had really wanted to be the first through, this order made more sense.

“You have three Isyar,” Almais had said when they’d met up with him and his men earlier. “What do you need us for?”

“Anita felt it was important,” Zandrue said. “For appearances if nothing else.”

“And they’re all right going inside a church?”

“They all already did at the memorial, so I guess the damage is done.”

The door led to the landing in the Tower of Night near where Zandrue had encountered the Tall Man.

Tall was an understatement, but she didn’t have any other way to refer to him. At seven and a half feet tall, at least, he was taller than Rudiger or even most Volg men. Somehow, he had sneaked up behind her without her noticing. Though the fact she had then been completely unable to move indicated magic use—specifically mentalism, which made his sneakiness not all that surprising.

But his height was only one way in which he stood out. He wore a thick, black robe with the hood drawn back so that only his head, neck, and hands were visible. His skin was pale, almost grey in colour. He was completely bald, and in the time she had to look at him—which was surprisingly lengthy—it became clear he didn’t have any hair of any kind anywhere on his head, not even a hint of stubble. Indeed, he was a lot like the bodies she’d found at the top of the tower—except taller and...well, alive.

He had smiled at her—a horrid smile of teeth that were...technically, perfectly normal teeth, except they were in the wrong places—molars and canines at the front, and incisors farther back—and they had large gaps between them. As well as smiling, he had reached out to her with a hand of long, thin fingers, each with a thick, grey nail that came to a sharp point. The nail of his forefinger almost touched her nose, but then he pulled his hand back and just continued to smile at her.

She had never found a smile so unnerving.

“Clear!” one of the watchmen called.

Zandrue and Almais stepped through the door, followed by Mikranasta.

“Fevionawishtensen is investigating the top of the tower to check on the bodies,” Jorvan said.

“I suspect they’re gone by now,” Zandrue said. “But doesn’t harm to be on the safe side.”

“I am detecting no mental presences other than our own,” Mikranasta said. “However, if another of those creatures is here, I will not be able to detect it.”

Zandrue resisted the urge to make a jab about her being kind of useless. She had not really wanted Mikranasta here at all—for both that reason and personal distaste—but Mikranasta had insisted and it made an annoying sense. The tall man was clearly a mentalist. Felitïa couldn’t do much against him with the shield around her and Hedromornasta needed to maintain the shield, so Mikranasta was the only remaining choice. And as much as Zandrue hated to admit it, Mikranasta was also probably the best choice.

Zandrue started down the stairs. “The secret door is this way.” Upon reaching the bottom, she went straight to the wall where she’d found the hidden door. After a quick check, she found the outline again and traced out the approximate arc it would make in the room when it opened.

“Doesn’t leave much room to manoeuvre,” Nin-Akna said, backing to the far wall and levelling her spear. A couple of the watchmen took up positions beside her.

“To be honest,” Zandrue said, “it might be a moot point if we don’t figure out how to open it. There’s no latch or mechanism that I was able to find. Though to be fair, I didn’t have a lot of time.”

“Allow me,” Jorvan said.

Of course. The door was stone. How short-sighted of her. She nodded and stepped aside, her free hand going for the hilt of her sword while she prepared to drop the lantern she was carrying if she needed to.

Jorvan made a gentle waving motion with his arm and the stone began to shift, accompanied by the same scraping noise Zandrue had heard when it opened the last time she was here.

The door swung slowly outwards, revealing a space beyond. The ceiling was low, but it was otherwise a fairly large space, roughly rectangular but with a smaller cubby space in the left wall. The room was also almost entirely empty.

Zandrue knew she was supposed to wait for others to go first, but she walked straight in anyway. Nothing she was seeing was in any way surprising, but it was disappointing.

Two of the watchmen had to stoop over when they entered, but as Zandrue herself was the tallest out of everyone else, no one else had a problem with the low ceiling—though it was only a couple of inches above hers and Almais’s heads. Always bring short people when investigating secret underground rooms, she supposed.

That did present an interesting thought: If the Tall Man was using this room, he must have had a very awkward time. The image of how stooped over he would have to be was a little amusing—the barest minimum recompense for how he had humiliated her.

She did not like the idea of other people in her head. Even her recent experience with Felitïa had left a certain discomfort. It wasn’t Felitïa’s fault, and Zandrue would be forever grateful for what Felitïa had done. But it was still unnerving thinking about how Felitïa had taken full control of her body. The thought sent a shiver down her spine even now.

But for what the Tall Man had done to her—immobilised her, altered her memories—she would see him dead, preferably at her own hand.

Even with her memories restored, she couldn’t quite remember all the details of what had happened to her. He had smiled at her for a disturbingly long length of time, and then things were a blur. She remembered her body moving of its own accord. It hadn’t been like when Felitïa took control. On that occasion, she had consented and her body had obeyed Felitïa like it obeyed her. But the Tall Man had caused her to take jerky motions, bringing her feet down with each step so harshly, it was actually painful.

Had they come to this room? They had definitely gone to a room, but she didn’t recall the Tall Man stooping, so maybe it was somewhere else.

She wished she could remember, and was annoyed she couldn’t.

“There are two possibilities,” Mikranasta had said earlier in regards to why she couldn’t remember everything. “One, Felitïa Asa Folith did not recover all your memories. Two, it is a natural loss of memory. Memory can be fickle at the best of times. You were in a stressful situation, your mind violated. You may have subconsciously blocked your own memories.”

Of course, Mikranasta had refused to let Felitïa go back in to check again. She had said it was no longer a critical situation. “While the Will-Breaker performed admirably considering her inexperience and lack of knowledge of what she was doing, she did come extremely close to wiping your entire mind. As the immediate emergency is over, there is no longer any reason to sake such a reckless risk.”

One of the things Zandrue disliked about Mikranasta the most was how often she agreed with her. It would be so much easier if she wasn’t so smugly correct all the time.

Feviona entered the room, signing to Jorvan.

“Feviona confirms the bodies are no longer at the top of the tower,” Jorvan said.

Again, not surprising, but disappointing.

Feviona headed straight for one of the walls and began tracing her fingers and wing tips along it.

“Looks like they skipped out,” Almais said.

Zandrue nodded while raising and moving the lantern to get a better view of the different parts of the room. There was a single wooden table remaining near the back of the room, and in the smaller side room there appeared to be a ratty blanket, and a couple wooden bowls and spoons.

“There’s a lot of scraping on the floor,” Nin-Akna said. She was kneeling in the middle of the room. “They all lead towards the door. Looks like they dragged some heavy stuff out of here.”

“Where would they take such things without being seen?” Jorvan asked.

“Somewhere else in the building?” Nin-Akna suggested, standing up.

“Could be a lot of places,” Almais said. “These are busy streets and a lot goes on on them. People carrying equipment out of the cathedral wouldn’t have garnered much notice.”

“Maybe not from people on the street,” Zandrue said, “but surely the clergy would have thought there was something odd about it. Unless they were in on it, of course.” She decided not mention the other possibility: they had been mind-fucked like she had been.

“Can’t ask them now,” Almais said.

The bodies of several clergy had been found following the memorial attack. The others, including Bandren, were missing. No one had seen them. Zandrue doubted Bandren was a Darker, but it was possible some of the other missing clergy were. As for Bandren’s location, he might be dead with his body still not found, he might have been taken captive, or he had simply run off from fear. The first seemed most likely. There were apparently still numerous piles of rubble that could conceal bodies.

“Wouldn’t people removing things be a lot more noticeable now?” Nin-Akna said.

Almais nodded. “It would, but who says they didn’t leave before the attack? If they knew it was coming, it would make sense to be out of there before they got caught in it.”

“But this part of the cathedral wasn’t damaged,” Nin-Akna said. “Wouldn’t that make this the perfect hiding place? A secret room under a ruined building?”

Zandrue shook her head. “Not when there’s me. Tall Guy must have suspected my memories would be restored in time. He might not have expected Felitïa to do it, but he must know about Mikranasta’s presence. They probably started packing up the moment they sent me off believing I hadn’t found anything.”

Nin-Akna shrugged. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

“Fevionawishtensen, have you found anything?” Mikranasta said.

Feviona stopped what she was doing and looked back. She shook her head and signed.

Jorvan translated, “She says she has found no magical residue of any kind so far. If there ever was any, too much time has passed since it was used. However, she has not yet checked everywhere, though she doubts she will find any.”

“How long would need to pass for it to vanish?” Zandrue asked.

“It would depend on the original strength of the magic,” Jorvan said. “Minor spells will fade in minutes. Powerful spells will last longer.”

“And what was done to me?”

Jorvan looked to Mikranasta, who responded, “What was done to you required powerful magic. However, it was mentalism which technically doesn’t fade faster, but it is fainter to start. Even powerful mentalism is extremely difficult to detect after a few hours.”

Zandrue sighed. Another thing that was not at all surprising, but very disappointing. “I don’t think there’s anything we can learn here. Tell Feviona she can stop. We should get going.”

“She understands you,” Mikranasta said. “I’ve made certain.”

“Right. Okay, Feviona, you can—”

Feviona signed something, and Jorvan translated, “She says she will remain here until she has checked the whole room.”

“She doesn’t have to do that.”

“She likes to be thorough,” Jorvan said.

Zandrue shrugged and looked to Feviona. “All right, suit yourself.”

Feviona nodded and turned back to tracing her fingers and wings along the walls.

Zandrue took a last look around the room. The trail here was probably cold, but she doubted the Darkers would want to give up any positions they still had at the palace. There had to be something to find there.

* * * * *

“The nose was a little wider, and a little more hooked.”

Sinitïa smudged the chalk and redrew the Tall Man’s nose. “Like that?”

Zandrue nodded. “That’s about right.”

“How about the mouth?” Sinitïa asked, hugging her legs close to her chest and resting the slate on her knees.

“Thin lips.”

“Colour?”

“You don’t have any coloured chalk.”

“I know, but it’ll still affect how dark I draw them.”

“There wasn’t much colour to them at all. They were barely discernible from his skin.”

Sinitïa started to draw, contorting her mouth and nose. After a moment, she stopped. “I’m not really sure what dis-whatever means.”

Zandrue chuckled. “It means it was hard to tell them apart.”

Sinitïa grinned and returned to drawing. “Okay, that’s what I thought. There. What do you think?” She held out the slate proudly.

For a bunch of smudgy chalk lines, it was a surprisingly good picture of the Tall Man, at least as far as Zandrue could remember him. “It’s good. Thank you, Sinitïa.”

“You’re welcome! I’ll make a couple of charcoal copies for you to show around.”

Given the tall man’s height, drawings of him probably weren’t necessary. People would remember someone that tall. But it made Sinitïa feel useful to draw them.

Sinitïa motioned to her handmaid. “Bring me some paper and my charcoal pens.”

The handmaid curtsied, but there were was a noticeable disapproving scowl on her face. She hurried out of the room.

“They don’t like me drawing in bed,” Sinitïa said. “I get the sheets all smudged up. But what else am I supposed to do? Melly says I have to stay in bed for at least another day to make sure I don’t still have con-cushion.”

“Concussion.”

“Right. I keep getting that wrong. Did you really not betray Felitïa to Annai?”

“Um.” It took Zandrue a moment to adjust to the abrupt change of topic, especially to something that was so long ago. It was something she had intended to talk to Sinitïa about at the time, but then Sinitïa disappeared, having run off with Meleng and Jorvan, and so much else happened, Zandrue just forgot about it. “I really didn’t betray Felitïa.”

Sinitïa hugged her knees up to her chest. “But you told Annai you could tell her Felitïa’s secrets.”

“Nothing Felitïa wasn’t okay with me saying. Before I went to the Palace, Felitïa told me to use her as a scapegoat, to use everyone’s hatred of her as a way of getting closer to them. And trust me, I would never have told Annai any big secrets, just little ones. Besides, I didn’t even really need to. Annai grew to trust me without me having to say much about Felitïa. We actually became friends.”

“Really?”

Zandrue nodded. “She can be a really shallow person at times, but she’s basically good. We had fun together. And Tianna and I…” She paused and took a deep breath. It was still hard to talk about Tianna.

“What about Tianna?”

Zandrue gave Sinitïa a smile. “Do you know what happened to her?”

Sinitïa shook her head. “I figured she probably died in the dragon attack like everybody else.”

Zandrue lowered head and looked away. She took a moment to wipe a tear from her eye. “She died before that, but it was because of the dragon. She...uh… I’ll tell you about it in more detail another time, okay?”

The handmaid came back into the room at that moment, carrying a small pile of papers and a case. Behind her was a boy in palace livery. The handmaid curtsied. “A messenger, your Highness.” She then continued to the bed, where she handed Sinitïa the items.

Sinitïa motioned the boy forward. He stepped up and bowed. “Your Highness, her Highness, Princess Felitïa requests Lady Armida’s presence in the library.”

Zandrue watched the boy for a moment.

“I guess you should probably go,” Sinitïa said. “I’ll draw the copies and you can pick them up when you’re done with Felitïa.”

Zandrue nodded, slowly, not taking her eyes off the boy. He was maybe twelve or thirteen years old, with light brown hair. She was fairly sure she’d seen him once or twice around the palace, but she had never interacted with him. However, there was something else familiar about him.

The boy she’d seen in the cathedral the night she’d met the Tall Man.

She couldn’t be sure he was the same boy, but if he wasn’t, the resemblance was remarkable. She wished she’d gotten his scent.

“Zandrue?” Sinitïa said.

“What? Oh yes, sorry, just thinking.” She addressed the boy, “Tell Felitïa...I mean, her Highness, I’ll be along shortly.”

The boy bowed again, and then the handmaid showed him out of the room.

“Do you know him?” Zandrue asked Sinitïa.

“He’s a messenger boy. He’s brought me a few messages before. I think his name is Luca or something.”

“Lucas, your Highness,” the handmaid said with a curtsy.

“Right, Lucas,” Sinitïa said. “Why?”

Zandrue shrugged and stood up. “Nothing. Just curious. I better not keep Felitïa waiting. Is it just me, or is she starting to enjoy playing princess?”

Sinitïa scowled. “You’re trying to change the topic because you don’t want to tell me.”

Zandrue gulped. Sinitïa’s naïveté was not what it once was. Maybe it never had been. “Yeah, okay, maybe I am.”

“So tell me then. You think there’s something different about the boy. What? I’m involved in this now just as much as you. I deserve to know.”

“Okay, okay.”

Sinitïa waved away the handmaid, who curtsied and left the room. “There. Go ahead.”

Zandrue sighed. “I would have preferred not to make a scene. It’s good you sent your handmaid away, but she already knows we’re talking about the boy. It could spread.”

“Oh.” Sinitïa frowned. “Sorry. I didn’t think of that. It’s just everyone always keeps things from me because they think I’m stupid, but I’m not, and I just want to be included.”

“It’s okay. What’s done is done. Just be more careful.”

Sinitïa nodded. “I will.”

“I think I saw the boy in the cathedral that night I lost my memories. I can’t be sure it’s him because I didn’t get a good look at the boy in the cathedral. I never actually saw his face. But they definitely look similar.”

“You think he’s a Darker?”

“I think there’s a chance.”

“But he’s just a boy.”

Zandrue nodded sadly. “Yeah, they recruit young. Anyway, I’ve got an idea of how to find out for sure, but I need to talk to Felitïa first. Don’t let on that we suspect him.”

“I won’t,” Sinitïa said. “I have to stay in bed, remember? So I probably won’t even see him unless he brings me another message, and if he does, I won’t say anything.”

“Great, I’ll be back later to pick up those pictures, and don’t worry, I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Sinitïa grinned. “Thank you!”

The handmaid was waiting in the entry chamber when Zandrue left Sinitïa’s bedroom. She curtsied to Zandrue and moved towards Sinitïa’s room.

“Actually,” Zandrue said, “do you mind a quick word?”

The handmaid curtsied again. “My Lady?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Olla, my Lady.”

“Olla, what can you tell me about the boy, Lucas?” Despite what Zandrue had told Sinitïa, Olla was already aware something was up, so might as well try to make use of her in some way, especially considering servants were often aware of a lot of things going on that their employers were ignorant of. Servants also liked to gossip.

“He’s been a messenger boy here for many years. Most of his life as I understand it. His father is the valet of the old Lord Belone’s brother, Horaz.”

“And his mother?”

“His mother was a handmaid here, I believe, though she died many years ago, before my time here.”

“I see. Thank you, Olla. I won’t keep you any longer. Her Highness may have need of you.” Zandrue turned away from the handmaid and headed for the door.

“My Lady, if I may be so bold.”

Zandrue smiled and turned back around. Sometimes, the best way to get information out of people was to make them think you didn’t want anything more from them.

“I’m not sure why you’re interested in the boy,” Olla said, “but you should know, there are rumours about his father.”

“What sort of rumours?”

“Lucas’s father is...an intense man. He is good at his job, and the late Lord Belone’s brother is apparently very happy with his service, but…” Olla frowned. “You won’t tell anyone where you learned of this, will you?”

Zandrue shook her head. “I’ll tell no one you’ve spoken with me, not even Princess Sinitïa.”

Olla made a slight curtsy. “Thank you, my Lady. Word amongst the women servants is that the menservants are terrified of him. It is also said that people who cross him vanish soon after.”

“Do servants go missing often?” Zandrue asked. “Other than after the recent troubles, I mean.”

“It is a normal thing, my Lady, that sometimes servants go missing. In most cases, I’m sure it’s just that they ran off. Danel Belone frequently had to replace his servants and it was probably because no one liked him. But the stories do say that many had run-ins with Godran first.”

“That’s his name? Lucas’s father?”

Olla nodded. “Yes, my Lady.”

“Thank you, Olla. And don’t worry, he’ll never learn about you.” As long as the damn Tall Man didn’t rip it from her mind, but it was best not to tell Olla anything like that.

“Now, if you will excuse me, my Lady, I should return to her Highness.”

“Of course. Thank you again.” As Olla turned away, Zandrue added, “Oh, and I know Sinitïa can be a little...unusual, but honestly, I think she’s probably the best person here for you, or anyone, to work with. She’ll appreciate you far more than most others.”

Olla curtsied. “If you say so, my Lady. Good day to you.” She curtsied once more and hurried off.

Zandrue stood in the entry chamber for a short while afterwards. If Lucas was a Darker, it made sense that his father might be one too. Darkers did tend to bring their children into the “family business”. And if Lucas was a not-entirely willing Darker, he might be willing to pass on information in return for protection. Of course, his father might just be involved in normal illicit activities. Whatever the case, it was definitely something worth pursuing.

She headed to the library.

When she reached it, she shook her head before the servant could open the door. She needed a moment to prepare herself.

She was grateful for what Felitïa had done for her. She really was. Indeed, she loved Felitïa more than ever for it. But Felitïa had taken full control of her body. She knew it had been necessary, but it was still terrifying. Being aware of everything, but unable to do anything. In some ways—no, in most ways—it was like when the Tall Man had immobilised her. He had been in full control of her. He had made her body move where he wanted it to go. It made being around Felitïa slightly uncomfortable.

It was a shame because the experience had otherwise been so incredibly intimate. Not in a sexual way, but in a pure love kind of way. There had been moments there when their minds had overlapped, where they had thought each other’s thoughts. Zandrue had never experienced anything like it, and she doubted she ever would again because, despite the good aspects, it would take a lot before Zandrue would ever consider letting it.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded to the servant, who opened the door.

Felitïa sat at the table, eyes closed, holding the Pearl with both hands. Around her neck, the prayer beads glowed a pale purple.

Agernon, who sat across from Felitïa, looked at Zandrue with narrowed eyes. He slowly raised his cane and pointed it in Zandrue’s direction.

Zandrue held up her hands and proceeded to move as quietly as she could through the room.

Corvinian was sitting in one of the plush chairs along the walls, and Nin-Akna stood beside him. Zandrue approached them both.

Corvinian looked up at her with wide eyes. “They’re trying to make the Pearl work,” he whispered.

Zandrue just nodded. Back at the table, Agernon was glaring in their direction.

There was no sign of either Mikranasta or Hedromornasta, but given Agernon was here, whichever Isyar was maintaining the shield must be outside the other door.

Corvinian was swinging his legs and occasionally bumped one of the chair’s legs, causing another glare from Agernon.

Eventually, as the beads’ glow was fading, Felitïa opened her eyes and lowered the Pearl. She shook her head sadly. “Nothing. I honestly don’t know what else to do anymore.”

Agernon snatched the Pearl from her. “That much is obvious.”

“I am trying, you know,” Felitïa said.

After a couple more grumbles, Agernon nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m becoming more and more convinced there must be a passcode. Some phrase or image you think of that unlocks the Pearl’s powers. I’ll be damned if I know what it is though.”

“Somewhere, there has to be a record of the Pearl,” Felitïa said. “Dyle and his Darkers figured out how to use it. They must have learned it from somewhere or someone.”

“Yes, well, let’s just bring him in here and ask him, why don’t we? Oh right, he’s dead.” Agernon rose slowly, leaning heavily on his cane. “That’s enough for today, I suppose.”

“But I was hoping Zandrue—”

“She’s here.” Agernon pointed with his cane.

Zandrue waved when Felitïa looked in her direction. “What were you hoping I could do?”

Felitïa shrugged. “You’ve actually used the Pearl before. I know it wasn’t intentional, and it was probably Dyle who did the activating, but I was hoping your presence might...I don’t know. Make a difference somehow or inspire me. Something like that.”

Zandrue strode over to her. “Well, if you’re looking for good news…” She slid into the chair beside Felitïa. “I think I might have a lead on some Darker activity in the palace.”

“Really? That was fast.”

Zandrue gave an exaggerated shrug. “What can I say? I’m back! Also, Sinitïa is drawing pictures of the Tall Man based on my description. Assuming my memories can be trusted, she’s produced a pretty good likeness of Mister Tall’s face.”

“Why do you call him the Tall Man?” Corvinian asked.

Zandrue chuckled. “Because he’s very tall and I’m super creative when it comes to making up fake names.”

“I saw a tall man a couple weeks ago.”

“I’m sure you did,” Zandrue said. “There are a lot of tall people.”

Corvinian stopped swinging his legs and looked at her with wide eyes. “Yeah, but this guy was really tall, taller than Rudiger even. He was eight or nine feet tall at least.”

“Oh really. And what did he look like?”

“He was bald and kind of pale, I think.”

Zandrue stopped laughing. “Come again?”

“He was bald and pale.”

She turned to look at him more directly. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I did!” He pointed at Nin-Akna. “I told Akna!”

Nin-Akna looked a little taken aback. “You did?”

“Yeah, it was the same day we saw that Isyar family.”

“Oh right,” Nin-Akna said. “I remember now.”

“And you said nothing?” Zandrue said.

“I never actually saw the guy, and like you said, there are lots of tall people. All you Foliths are ridiculously tall. Why would I think there was anything weird about it?”

“That’s fair,” Zandrue said. “Where was this?”

Corvinian shrugged. “I don’t remember. Outside somewhere.”

“We were out in the streets,” Nin-Akna said. “Not far from the palace. I’m pretty sure I can remember where if you want me to show you.”

Zandrue shook her head. “No, the location doesn’t mean much other than he’s willing to walk around outside. It means other people will have seen him though. This was a couple weeks ago, you say?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t the only weird thing. We saw a group of Isyar. Two of them were children.”

“You saw Isyar children in Quorge?” Felitïa said.

“Yeah, I mentioned it to Anita, and she said there had not been any reports of Isyar in town other than Jorvan’s bunch. I thought it was a bit weird at the time, but then we got the news from Arnor City, and it seemed a lot less important. I kind of forgot about it.”

Zandrue looked to Felitïa. “What do you think?”

Felitïa shrugged. “It would be better to ask Jorvan—or hell, Mikranasta—but from what I know of Isyar society, it seems unlikely any Isyar would be travelling the rest of the world with children. I would also expect people to have seen them. There would be word on the street. Do you think there’s any connection with the Tall Man?”

“Maybe, though it could be coincidence. The children are certainly odd, though. I need to talk to Jorvan anyway, so I’ll bring it up with him.”

“Now I think of it,” Nin-Akna said. “Meleng also mentioned seeing a really tall man a couple weeks ago. It was after he fell in the harbour. He was countering the rumours that the creature he fought was a giant. He tried to point out someone he said was taller, but I didn’t see the person then either. But that could have been any tall person as well.”

“Did he say if this person was bald?” Zandrue asked.

Nin-Akna shrugged. “I don’t think so, but I don’t remember for sure. It didn’t seem important.”

“That’s all right,” Zandrue said. “I’ll talk to Meleng, too. First though, Corvinian, I want you to come with me.”

“Where?”

“To Sinitïa. I want you to look at her drawing and confirm if it was the same person you saw.”

“Okay.”

If either Corvinian or Meleng really had seen the Tall Man wandering around outside, there was every chance other people would have seen him too, including more recently. It might be possible to track down his current location. Of course, there was always the possibility the Tall Man was manipulating people’s minds to mislead them, but surely, no matter how powerful he was, he couldn’t manipulate all the hundreds of people who might see him. Someone would have information.

Once they found him…

Well, Zandrue had no idea what they would do.

But one thing at a time.